The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday (January 21) rejected Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) plea to relocate its team’s T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures to Sri Lanka.
While BCB had cited 'security concerns' in India to move its matches to Sri Lanka, the apex body categorially stated that there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any tournament venues in the neighboring country.
“It was noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events and undermine its neutrality as a global governing body,” the statement read.
The ICC also stated that changing the schedule at the last minute would have been a logistical nightmare; hence, the call was taken to stick to the original schedule.
Amid the recent development, news agency PTI reported that 14 out of 16 members voted against BCB’s request to relocate. The ICC has granted BCB an additional day to reconsider and take a final call on its participation in the showpiece tournament.
“Of all the members, only BCB and Pakistan voted in favour of the relocation request while all other voted against it. Bangladesh was given time till January 21 to confirm its participation but they have been given one more day by the ICC Board to state their position," PTI quoted an ICC source as saying.
The ICC management had engaged in a series of correspondences and meetings with the BCB in a bid to resolve the impasse, sharing detailed information on the event security plan, including layered federal and state law-enforcement support.
“Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament. During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India,” an ICC spokesperson said.
“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its players’ involvement in a domestic league. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the spokesperson added.
BCB took the stance of not travelling to India after IPL franchise KKR released left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad on BCCI’s instructions. The Indian board made this move earlier this month amidst reports of atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh.
